The folks at ahrefs asked me to write a little basic explainer about how to prevent your website from those who’d like to hack it. Depending on if you’re a sole proprietor or and SMB, YMMV – there’s only so much one person can do. But check it out! I hope you find it helpful.

Great news, everyone! I’ve recently accepted a position as a security blogger for Security Scorecard, a service dedicated to helping companies monitor the cyberdefense capabilities of their third-party vendors. Essentially, if you know how the Target breach happened, Security Scorecard is dedicated to making sure that never happens again. I’ll be posting some clips from my articles in the next few days, and I look forward to giving you a peek a a hitherto under-explored part of the information security space.

One of the good things about being freelance is that I finally have time to do activities that I find to be self-improving. In this case, its art. I love inky, intricate pieces of artwork, made with pens and markers. Really, anything that requires a great deal of hand-eye coordination to create is a things that I am a fan of. Anway, I’ve begun creating a few things that I might one day sell on Etsy or add to my design portfolio. Above, you’ll find the first of those pieces. I call it, “The Wizard Turns On,” after the song of the same name by the Flaming Lips.

It cost $20 and is bright red, as seen in the photo. It’s a finicky instrument, due to the low cost – it stays in tune for all of ten minutes as of now – but as something to simply learn on, it couldn’t be beat. I already know a whole four chords!

Ever read something that didn’t just make you wonder? Something so arrestingly weird that it more or less grabbed you by the shoulders and yelled, “You’re dumb!” That’s how I felt after reading Neal Stephenson’s Seveneves. It’s hard science fiction, so hardcore that is has a whole chapter on the physics of how chains behave in zero gravity. If you like space, and if you like having your mind blown, hop on over to Amazon and read it. I’ve posted a full review on Hubpages – check it out!